Awaiting Jetlag
by mar-hhr4ever
Summary: A set of one-shots inspired by spoilers of the episode Jetlag. TIVA
1. Chapter 1

Awaiting Jetlag

Summary – A set of one-shots inspired by spoilers of the episode Jetlag. TIVA

Disclaimer – NCIS characters are CBS's not mine.

* * *

Ziva – Having my back

She carefully inspected the room, her gaze falling on the only bed present just as asserted by the reception staff. She sighed, momentarily allowing her frustration to show just as by her side she heard the sound of a bag being thrown across the room; he had seen it too. He then disappeared in the bathroom and the sound of water running told her that he was taking a shower. She would take one after him and get ready for bed. She was quite tired even though she was used to the trans-Atlantic flights. Having him talk uninterruptedly and flirt with every air-hostess could have had an effect on things.

She noticed a balcony and went to check it, her radar still on the alert despite the tiredness. A quick look told her that it was clear and she allowed herself to relax in a chair and absorb the beauty that is Paris. She had been here several times and even though missions do not generally allow for the holiday aspect of enjoying a foreign country, she had found herself falling in love with it. Paris had a different atmosphere, one that spoke about love not work and business and she allowed herself once more to let this atmosphere calm her.

Saying that the coming days would be a challenge was an understatement. She could not believe that they were chosen for this mission. Together, alone, in Paris... Could the others not see that they could kill each other in the first night? Even though their efficient investigative partnership was returning, things were still a bit shaky between them. She was not foolish enough to think that things would return to normal immediately after her return. She did not even think that they would be right after their discussion in the men's room. However she had hoped that after their talk they would make more progress, lately she felt that they were not moving at all. Both stuck somewhere afraid to make the first move, afraid to be the one who could end up hurt.

She could not understand him; he was back to using immaturity as self-preservation. She had thought they were past that point, had they not overcome it some years ago? After Jeanne things had seemed so different between them, she had almost started believing that if she opened up just a little bit, if she took the risk, they could be good together. Then Jenny died, she felt like they were on two completely different pages, their differences becoming too pronounced. She was the cold distant Mossad officer, he was the childish American dream haunted with guilt.

It was with that feeling that she left for Israel, back to Mossad field duty after so long. It was with her heart still shocked by this difference between them that she met Michael and let herself believe that after all someone from your own country and your own background had to be more similar to her. But similarity does not mean compatibility, it does not mean happiness, it does not equal to what her heart needs. And she learnt that the hard way.

And here they were, so close and yet so far, how can they rebuild what seems to be shattered? How can they find what seems to be lost and forgotten? This did not apply just to Tony and herself, sometimes she felt a strain with her relationship with all the members of the team. It was nothing obvious, she just knew that she had still so much to tell them about what happened in Somalia and had no idea how to do it. Her heart was still heavy with unwanted and unresolved memories but she still found it difficult to open up.

She knew that after all that they did for her she owed them the truth, she also owed them her trust. She just needed to find the strength inside her to start listing her failures, something which was definitely not in her genetic make-up. And she knew that if there was someone who would be ready to listen to her without any judgements, it was every single person on the team.

As she stepped back into the room she noticed Tony sprawled on the bed, a glance to his face told her that he was sleeping. She smiled and her face softened as she thought back to their long flight. The navy officer they were supposed to protect had talked and flirted with Tony throughout the flight. He had tried to stop her so many times, it was quite hilarious at first but then she had started to become annoying. No wonder he was knackered!

She went closer to him entranced by how peaceful has face looked when he was sleeping. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she couldn't stop her hand from reaching his face caressing him softly. Thinking back to the first time she met him a sigh escaped her lips. She was such a different person then, full of training, always following orders and inside of her a girl wanting to break free. Free from the terrorism and violence she had seen since she was young, free from having to maintain honour to the David name, free from the manipulations of her father.

And against all odds she had found her freedom in this team. A team of people who were truly her friends and not just co-workers, people who managed to open her up, make her loosen up. She had found a family in America, one which she had come to regard at a higher place than her biological one in Mossad. They taught her that a family is not just who you are born to but who's got your back.

She understood now why it was said that people give their best when they are surrounded by people who love them. It sounded cliché in a way she would never imagine herself saying things like that... but it was true. This team had brought out the best in her. They had made her a better investigator, a better agent, a better friend, a better person. All of them had given her the family she thought never existed - the one that loves you completely and trusts you.

And looking at Tony she couldn't help but feel indebted to him, for all that he had done. She had had numerous partners before him but he was different than all of them. He didn't look at her differently because she was the Director's daughter, he didn't cower away from her (well most of the time), he didn't bail on her and she could be herself around him without fearing that he would use it against her; he truly had her back in a way that no other partner had before. When she was in the field with him she trusted him blindly knowing that he had every angle covered. He had her back and she had his.

Later on she would probably blame the emotion of the moment for allowing her to do the following things. She slowly reached forward and lightly pressed her lips to his forehead and softly said, "There's no surprise that my work got better when I met you because I never knew what it felt like for someone to really have my back."

Feeling her eyes moisten she stood up and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed never looking back to the bedroom. Had she looked back she would have noticed the soft smile that suddenly appeared on Tony's lips, warming up his face and the rest of the room on the cold Parisian night.

* * *

I rushed to upload this as I want to upload one each day before Jetlag airs, so there may be loads of mistakes. I'm not particularly happy with the wording of the last part but I hope you get the feeling I wanted to convey.

Some parts of Ziva's thoughts are taken directly from Sandra Bullock's acceptance speech at the Golden Globes. Check the entire thing out, it's a heartfelt speech.

Thanks for reading.

marija


	2. 2 Tony

_**Awaiting Jetlag**_

Summary – A set of one-shots inspired by spoilers of the episode Jetlag. TIVA

Disclaimer – NCIS characters are CBS's not mine.

Note – This is completely unrelated to the first chapter

* * *

Tony - Earplugs

"Well let's just say that the chainsaw going on right beside my ear may have prevented me from falling asleep." He told her, yawning as he did. He tried to stand up and found that his muscles had found no pleasure in him sleeping hunched on a chair. While trying to massage his neck slowly he looked around the room for a clock – 9:00am. Too early and too late at the same time.

They had arrived in Paris very late last night and once in the hotel they had found out that somehow their reservation got screwed up. Both too tired to fight each other they had both slept on the only bed present in the room. Or she slept while he turned from side to side trying and failing to block her snoring. Giving up entirely at around 3am he had proceeded to throw himself in one of the chairs of the room and study their protection detail.

They had been sent in Paris to escort a witness in an embezzlement case back to Washington and Ziva had memorized everything about the case the minute she was handed the file whereas he had opted to play tetris. Being wide awake at three in the morning had given him only a couple of options. First: go out for a walk, an option preferred in several movies but he had to opt out seeing that it was freezing outside and he had never been to Paris before. Second: watch a movie, but that could wake Ziva up and he did not want an angry ninja in the morning and he also thought that she deserved all the rest that she could get. Third: work on the case, so that was what he had done.

It seems that at some point he had managed to fall asleep and was woken up by Ziva who had immediately asked why he was sleeping in a chair. His aching muscles screaming at him he didn't bother hiding the truth.

"There were works going on in the room next to us?" Was her reply to his previous chainsaw comment.

He rolled his eyes, honestly why even bother talk to her in good English?! "No, multi-lingual ninja. It was your snoring!" He screamed through his gritted teeth.

"Oh" Was her only reply. He could feel her looking at him as he tried to stretch and work his muscles, it lasted only a second as she then left leaving him alone. They continued their morning rituals, getting showered and getting ready for the rest of their day in an unfamiliar silence. She had not spoken to him after the snoring comment and had tried to avoid him as much as possible considering the limitation of sharing a room with him. He could not understand what had gotten into her but he had tagged it as another one of her moments… He had once called her a crazy Israeli chick with impulse issues – he was being treated to one of the reasons for that nickname right now.

Just before leaving their room she stopped at the door so abruptly that he kept walking right into her. He gave her a look that clearly said 'What now?' and she just replied by asking, "Is it really that bad? My snoring… could you not rest because of it?"

He had a retort right on the tip of his tongue and he was ready to use it but one look at her eyes made him stop. She had a look that he had not seen lately, it was that edge of vulnerability that escaped her Mossad walls once in a while. He once told her that her eyes wouldn't shut up and he meant it. When he first met her she was guarded, inaccessible but slowly as she spent more time with them she started to loosen up.

The look in her eyes was the first thing to change. He saw it first when they were locked in a container ad he was trying to get to know her better. He had managed to make her laugh but then he had mentioned her father and she changed. She had blocked but her eyes were screaming at him, showing him the little kid who came home discovering her father was not the role model she thought he was. He had also seen it the time she told him that they came from completely different backgrounds and that just stopping to have fun meant letting your guard down far too much.

Undoubtedly she would have thought of it as a weakness. Being trained to be the best, to always have the upper hand and never show any emotion, she would think that her eyes would be betraying her. But he loved it. He loved the fact that she was changing, he loved the fact that he was one of those who brought the change in her. He loved the fact that it made her seem more human but still a ninja at the same time. Her eyes were the essence of Ziva. And at that moment they were telling him that she was berating herself for not letting him sleep at night.

That was why he softened his glance and told her in a soft voice "Like a drunken sailor with emphysema I wasn't kidding when I told you we need to take you to the doctor. I can't imagine how you manage to just breathe; it cannot be healthy. And I need you to be healthy and at your best, this is a strange city and you're going to have to show it to me. We can make a Parisian Holiday out of it."

Of course she completely missed the movie hint and still stared at him trying to find the hidden message in his answer but not managing to see the obvious part about him needing her. He sighed and put his hand to her shoulder to keep her with him, to give his words added weight. "Don't worry about it Ze, I'll rest in the afternoon."

He saw her nod slightly but knew that she was still beating herself up for it. After returning from Africa she had become very attentive to all of them but was still distant at the same time. He sometimes found himself thinking about what had happened to her in those months and every time he had to stop his mind from going down certain ways… Thank God they had saved her! She was the strongest person he knew but even she had been broken by the experience. The look on her face when he asked her if she could fight was engraved deep in his mind but he wished he could forget it. Never had he seen her so powerless and he knew what it must have felt like for her. To be powerless must be one of her greatest failures. And Ziva did not handle failures well.

The changes in her were relatively small and possibly inexistent to the untrained eye but he had been watching her for a long time and knew her probably better than he knew himself. So he caught on to the small changes. On the extra attention she gave Abby, knowing also that they went out together more often. The fact that she congratulated Tim more, acknowledging that he had become more confident over the past months, knowing that she saw in him a brother. She was even sweet to complete strangers like when she convinced him to find a good gift for Dolores because she must have been a lonely woman.

He was starting to think that she was more aware of how brittle life was. And after so many brushes with death it was a mystery that she ever understood that. But she was trying to live more, experimenting more now that she was free of the limitations imposed by her father. And he was very grateful for that, only imaging how hard it must be to let everything go. But he also knew that there were many things she still was keeping to herself and wished that she'd trust him enough to tell him.

The rest of the day went on in a similar fashion as Ziva was still quiet and he kept on throwing movie trivia to jolt her from her thoughts. He had no luck and by night time they returned to the hotel ready to get their final rest before the real work begins the next day. Ziva showered quickly and went to bed with a soft _Laila Tov._ He showered slowly and then went to hit the mini bar even though they had just eaten. As he passed the TV set something on the table caught his eye – a folded paper with his name written on it.

As he unfolded the paper something fell from inside it and he had to crouch down to pick the item from the floor. He laughed out loud when he saw what it was and felt his heart warm up with the thoughtfulness of his partner. When did she even find time to buy them? She was by his side all day long! She never seemed to amaze him, not only with her skills but also when doing something so unexpected.

With a smile firmly set on his lips he took a bag of nuts from the mini bar and went to bed. Ziva was sleeping on her side, facing him; her face was set in a concentrated mode, not managing to relax even when sleeping. He let his hand push her hair away from her face lingering a bit on her cheek. He could feel her leaning into his hand unconsciously and noticed her face clear, she must have been dreaming. He wishes he could clear away the thoughts that haunted her as easily as he chases her nightmares away.

When his hand finally leaves her face she starts snoring softly and he cannot help but laugh once more. Her snoring increases in intensity and he thinks that there is not time like the present to test if her gift works. Slipping an earplug in both of his ears he is engulfed by the silence and can only hear his laughing through the vibrations produced in his throat.

Settling on his side, he lets his arm drape around her, protecting her even in his sleep. And he thanks God once more that they saved her, that she was alive beside him. He fixes the earplug and with one last smile surrenders himself to the land of dreams where his senses open up once more letting the sound of her laughter and the joy of her eyes sift through.

* * *

Not completely satisfied but here you have it, I think Tony is quite difficult for me to write as I feel like I connect a lot to Ziva.

I've already finished tomorrow's piece, so it will be up before Jetlag airs.

Thanks


	3. 3 Partners

_**Awaiting Jetlag**_

Summary – A set of one-shots inspired by spoilers of the episode Jetlag. TIVA

Disclaimer – NCIS characters are CBS's not mine.

Note – This is completely unrelated to the first chapter

* * *

Partners

There it was again, it was hard to ignore it. The only sound in the bullpen apart from typing and the pen's scratching against papers was his mumbling. She ought to have gotten used to it after so many years working with him but somehow it still infuriated her. Even after the long flight back to Washington, he still had the energy to mumble constantly, wavering her focus.

They were the only ones in the entire floor apart from security because they had just returned from their assignment in Paris and Gibbs had already told them he wanted to find the reports on his desk when he came back in the morning. That left them with no choice but to finish everything tonight and look forward to resting as they both had the next day off to recover from the journey.

Ziva still couldn't believe that Gibbs had chosen this way to punish them for the slight mishap in their assignment. They were successful after all; they only had a few troubles along the way which included firing their weapon on foreign soil. In her opinion Vance was taking diplomacy to a level previously un-thought of. They were federal agents after all, were they not allowed to use their weapons to defend themselves? And it wasn't like they killed the other guy... just sent him for a lovely trip to the hospital. Quite an efficient way to solve problems if you asked her.

However she now realised that this 'efficient way' led to hours of report-writing. She stretched her neck and looked at her to-do-list. Just one more left, the easiest one, it would be ready in no time. With newfound focus and determination she completed the report and happily signed at the end of the page. She smiled at herself, switched off her computer and desk lamp and gathered her things ready to go back home.

A sigh from the desk across from hers stopped her movements. She glanced at him and noticed that he was still working, no doubt having made himself lose focus with all his mumbling. He looked like he still had a lot of reports to finish and she couldn't find it in her heart to leave while he was still working. It was after all thanks to him that she had managed to get so much sleep during the past days as he had been a perfect gentleman and slept on a couch when they realised they were stuck in a one-bed suite.

He had also taken her to this wonderful cafe after they wrapped up the case and Ziva had to admit that she had a great time with him. It felt like the old times; they baited and bantered with each other. Stolen glances and teasing tongues had paved the road for their journey and it was one that they were willing to take together, no matter how long it takes. They could fix this, she was certain of that now.

She felt like they were almost closer than ever before. She knew that it was a privilege for her to call him her partner and she wanted to show it to him the way he had shown her during their time in Paris. Theirs was a relationship based on signs and as Abby had once put it 'the ball was in her court now', time to make a move. Time to show him that she appreciated him, not only for Paris but also for what he did in Somalia. For being there for her, for saving her, for bringing her back home... For having her back.

She therefore stood up and walked to his desk. "Which are the ones you have already finished?" She asked. He looked up at her having been startled by her sudden appearance at his desk and showed her the pile of finished reports. She then proceeded to take said pile and put them on her desk, grabbing her chair she returned to his desk. She wordlessly took a report from the unfinished pile and made some room for her to work on his desk. Then grabbing a pen she started writing.

She could still feel his gaze upon her so she looked at him asking him if there was something he needed. He just shook his head still amazed at what was going on in front of him. It was such a sweet gesture from her part that he smiled. She gave a small nod, knowing that he had understood why she was doing it.

'_I'm here for you too – Thanks'_

She then returned her focus to the task at hand when she heard it again, his mumbling. Being so close to him she realised that he was actually humming a familiar tune. A tune that reminded her of croissants and coffee and scooters. She closed her eyes momentarily, understanding the significance of it.

'_I appreciate you being here – Thanks'_

And after all how could it be any other way? They were partners.

* * *

It's my favourite. I'll leave you all to enjoy Jetlag praying that the next 20 hours will fly so that I'll be able to watch it too.

Thanks


	4. 4 Reckless

_**Awaiting Jetlag**_

Summary – A set of one-shots inspired by spoilers of the episode Jetlag. TIVA

Disclaimer – NCIS characters are CBS's not mine.

Note – This is completely unrelated to the other chapters

* * *

Reckless

Running through the corridors of the hospital, Gibbs' glare was enough to convince the staff to let them through without any questions. They had already crossed paths in the previous day since Tony was admitted after taking a gun shot during their last case. He had to undergo a surgery and they had just been informed that he was finally waking. Ziva was the first one at the room and upon seeing Tony really awake in the bed she let out a breath just as Gibbs was entering the room.

Tony made eye contact with Ziva willing her to say something but she still could not find the words. It was Gibbs who broke the silence, asking his senior field agent if he was better. The conversation led to what had happened when he was shot.

"They had entered the warehouse and I followed them in" Tony said describing the events that had led to the shooting.

"That was reckless" Ziva said, speaking for the first time.

"Hello to you too" come Tony's reply, irritated that the first words she says to him are about his recklessness. They kept staring at each other, neither of them wanting to be the one who admits defeat by speaking first, defence is always the best offense.

Their staring was interrupted by Gibbs' phone ringing and he went outside to continue the conversation in silence, secretly pleased that he did not have to witness their tension any more. As soon as he stepped out of the room Ziva turned her back to Tony and closed the door. "It was reckless" she told him again, resting her forehead against the doorframe and finding herself suddenly tired. It had been a long day waiting for the phone to ring.

Tony still did not say anything and she could not believe that he did not understand what she was trying to say. Infuriated she asked, "Don't you get it?!"

"Hey you used a contraction sweetcheeks." Came Tony's reply, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. Having just come out of an operation he didn't need to do this now. He woke up wanting to see her, but not to fight with her.

"Tony!" she said finally turning around to face him letting her eyes show what she could not place in words. "After everything, how can you not get it?" She whispered, her voice broken with emotion.

"I do. I do get it." Tony answered truthfully knowing that it was about time they spoke about this and sensing that she would not be the first one to admit it. It was too difficult for her to admit that something which could almost be regarded as frivolous was in fact effecting her so much. "Paris?" He told her, not really asking a question.

She let out a sigh, the only acknowledgment that Paris was indeed what she was talking about. Coming back from Paris he had told Nora, the witness, that Paris had changed Ziva; she had no idea at that time how true it was.

"You should be more careful," she told him, letting it be the explanation for the momentary loss of control of her emotions.

"I'm always careful. And besides you do it too sometimes, remember when you went to disarm a bomb after Gibbs told us to clear the place?" Tony answered, challenging her to arrive to the true root of her problem.

"That was different," she said with a tone of finality.

"Yeah? Why so?"

"Because I can disarm a bomb with my eyes closed." Came her reply.

"So I'm not capable of doing my job well, am I?" Letting his anger get hold of himself as they were pulled in a typical argument of prides.

"That's not what I said. If I had not disarmed the bomb we would have lost evidence. You on the other hand just went and got yourself shot and for what?"

"For you! They told me they had you, all right? I was too freaking scared that something would happen to you."

Shocked by the revelation she went to sit at the edge of his bed and let herself be transported back to the previous day. They had followed the suspects into a warehouse and now had to break into it to catch them all. By their calculations there were three suspects against the two of them. They agreed that Ziva would go by the rear and try to surprise them while Tony would go from the front to distract them. For some reason he had not waited for her signal and had barged into the warehouse, Ziva had only heard the gunshots and barged in herself to find Tony on the floor bleeding. It had taken her only a couple of seconds to shoot the remaining two suspects, the first one being shot by Tony himself.

She had then ran to Tony to find him losing consciousness. When Gibbs and the ambulance arrived they found her next to him, her clothes and hands full of his blood and her emotions out of control. And now he was telling her that they had used her to lure him out. It meant that they already knew about them, it meant that she did not realise that the suspects were aware of their movements. It meant that she was also to blame.

With the thought of how close they had been to loosing it all engulfing her, she had never felt so useless in her life. At the warehouse when she heard the gunshots, she had immediately thought of the worst and the emotion that built in inside her was so powerful that it surprised her. It was similar to what she had felt just moments ago when she finally saw him alive and well. It made her head spin and her heart jump; it was too strong.

"Perhaps that is why there is rule number 12." Was what she said out loud.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tony asked her quickly, "You saying you want to forget these past six months? Pretend nothing ever happened..."

"No!" Of one thing she was certain, that they could not go to the way things were before. "That is not what I said Tony. I just think that perhaps it distracts us."

He humphed and asked "Or are you saying you regret it. Is that it?"

Something inside her snapped at that and her hand instinctively grabbed his arm wanting to inflict pain in any way just as his accusation had done to her. "Do not put words in my mouth Tony"

Tony took a deep breath in not really bothering about the firm grasp she had on his arm since he knew she was only doing it to express her hurt and not to really inflict any permanent damage. "Don't do this now Ziva, especially after we clearly had the same conversation that night in Paris and you found no objections. I know what you're doing. You're using this as an excuse because for once in your life something like this is actually going well for you and it scares you. It scares the hell out of you because you're opening up and breaking down these walls and you're happy, for the first time in a long time you're really happy. And you're scared because it's us and it works. I'm scared too, I'm scared that I'll mess this up just like everything else but I'm not backing out. So don't you turn your back on me now when we're finally at a point where we work. Don't do this to me Ziva" He was being so brutally honest that she loosened her grip on him trying to control her own feelings.

He read her like an open book and she knew he was right. She was scared, scared of how powerful these feelings were, scared of not knowing if she was taking the right risk. He was also right on the other things, no matter what her fears screamed at her, they really did work; both of them together... they were making it work. And this was one of the things she was scared of. They had been through too much already that she thought that they were at a point where no matter what they tried, old painful memories would still come between them. She was also afraid that their differences would be too much to handle and that what could be described as complimentary would end up spelling incompatibility.

But he was right, they worked. And it was that knowledge more than anything that comforted her, that allowed her to see that her fear of losing him was clouding her but it was not enough to make her turn her back on him, on them.

Showing him how important he was to her, she simply put her fingers to his cheek and told him, "I do not know what I would do if something happens to you."

Knowing how hard it was for both of them to acknowledge their dependence on each other Tony reciprocated, "I know and I don't know what I would do if something were to happen to you. But I know that you're my partner and we've got each other's backs no matter what. This thing does not affect our judgment. Yesterday was a choice I made consciously and I would do it again. I took a calculated risk. You would have done the same thing." He told her to chase away the thoughts he knew would be swimming in her mind.

"When I heard the gunshots I could not... it is not something I am used to feel. So useless, I could not punch anybody to make them make you feel better," she said. And he had to smile at how Ziva-ish it sounded. Of course her first reaction would be to inflict some sort of pain on someone to make them help him. It was her way of dealing when in some sort of panic.

"I can imagine you harassing the surgeons." he told her, smiling openly. And he was glad that he had finally managed to make her smile, secretly proud of the fact that he always knew how to make her smile.

"Tony I do not regret this," she said after a moment of silence, knowing that it needed to be said out loud. She did not regret this at all, it was actually the best thing that ever happened to her apart from joining NCIS.

He lifted his hand to her cheek and she leaned into his touch craving it as much as she had craved confirmation of his well-being. "I know," he told her to let her know that he never doubted it, that he just needed her to see what was going on in her head.

He smirked then to light up the mood and told her, "You know, I'm going to need someone to nurse me back."

"I don't do nursing" was her quick reply but he knew from the tone of her voice that she was not talking seriously.

"Come on Ziva," Tony told her whining.

"I can cook you something when they release you if you want," came her reply which was more than giving in to the nursing bit.

"Ah that sounds promising, what will you cook my ninja?"

"How about that pasta you seem to like so much?" she told him, her eyes shining knowing that he would understand which pasta she was talking about. She had cooked it the first time he came to her apartment when they returned from Paris.

"Hmm brilliant, I can taste it already. Maybe if you harass the surgeons they'll let me out faster." He told her with a smile making her laugh.

"I doubt it Tony and besides you need your rest. I want you to be in your best condition otherwise you'll be stuck to desk duty."

Tony's face told her that _that _was the last thing he wanted, wondering how anyone could stand being away from the field.

They then both fell into a comfortable silence letting their fingers, lips and eyes continue to say the words that they were still too proud to say.

So captivated by each other neither of them noticed the door opening, nor did they hear Gibbs look in and smirk at their site. They were too lost in each other, in touches and whispers that betrayed a secret successfully held for six months.

* * *

Couldn't help but add a post-Jetlag part and even though everyone has his own opinions about what happened in Paris I decided to go with this aspect of it for now.

I've also uploaded the video I spoke about in one of the chapters of Roots. It is certainly an amateur's video as you will see yourselves but I hope that the meaning shines through.

.com/watch?v=72SSiK8g6ng

Hope you liked this. Thanks once more


	5. 5 Jack Knife

_**Awaiting Jetlag**_

Summary – A set of one-shots inspired by spoilers of the episode Jetlag. TIVA

Disclaimer – NCIS characters are CBS's not mine.

Note – This is completely unrelated to the other chapters

**Jack Knife**

* * *

"Go home, it's been a long case." Comes Gibbs' quiet order.

"That's kind of you Boss." Mcgee replies, finally thankful that he gets to go home and sleep.

"I just don't want to see you like this tomorrow. You need to be sharp McGee."

McGee leaves quickly before Gibbs changes his mind. Ziva swichtes off the computer slowly, trying to time her leaving with Tony. She eyes him and notices that he is still silent after their little banter about Damon. It does not take too much for her to realise that he has taken her answers too seriously. She sighs, it was certainly not her intent to hurt him but lately even their lightest flirting takes an added meaning. She waits for him and together they enter descend to the parking lot.

Once in the elevator Tony asks: "So where will you guys be going?"

Knowing who and what he was talking about she shakes her head and answers, "_We _will be going to your house where _I_ will be cooking while _you _will be choosing the movie that _we _will watch."

She gestures with her hand to ensure that there are no misunderstandings of the use of the pronouns and she sees his shoulders relax as he finally gets it. He takes her hand in his as it is still in mid-air showing exactly what she means by 'we' and gives it a soft squeeze; it is the best he can trust himself to say without actually saying anything. He tries to calm down his breathing and tells his heart to tune it down a bit, not sure if the sprint it's doing is because of the jealousy or the exhilaration of her words.

As soon as the elevator stops she keeps their hands entwined and pulls him towards his car. She was too tired to drive anyway and was sure that he'll take her to work in the morning. She notices that he is still lost in his thoughts when they reach the car and he does not make a move to open the doors. She takes the opportunity to stand between him and the car, facing him and taking his face in her hands gently.

"Tony you need to stop," she tells him softly.

"Stop what?"

Seeing as he decided to take the denial road she goes straight to the point and tells him: "I am not going anywhere, so stop it."

He is hardly surprised that she knows what his thoughts are and makes no move to deny it. "It's just that... the truck - you could have died today," he tells her. The words sound foreign on his lips, he is not used to talking openly without any metaphors.

"I did not," she replies calmly.

"And then Werth!" Admitting that he was bothered by the guy was already a n achievement in itself.

"I simply meant that I will give him the number of my PTSD group, it may help him find his way."

"Oh."

"Yes oh"

"I am a dolt. " He groaned realising the kind of fool he might have looked like displaying excessive jealousy without any reason...

"Yes you are" came her reply in a kind voice.

"I'm sorry Ziva, I just don't seem to know what I am doing here," he tells her honestly.

"And neither do I. But it does not mean you have to question every guy that comes showing attention."

"I asked you and you toyed with me."

"I am sorry for that Tony, I did not realise you taking it seriously. I did not think that you would be jealous of Damon – I thought I had made myself clear regarding other guys."

"I know, I just.... this is new and strange and complicated and I don't know how to... We didn't even say what it is –"

She interrupts him by kissing him, finding it to be the only way to get through to him, to show him.

"This - it is everything."

* * *

This has been sitting on my hard drive for too long. I didn't even bother to format it well, sorry about that.


End file.
